


Branching Out

by Grumpy Gamers and Vibrant Colors (CantolopeJeevas)



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 20:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6674581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CantolopeJeevas/pseuds/Grumpy%20Gamers%20and%20Vibrant%20Colors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holly doesn’t blame Ross for taking advantage of their open relationship, not at all. She just feels a bit off about the whole thing. But talking with one of her closest friends is sure to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Branching Out

Holly needed a distraction. Anything to get rid of this weird feeling curdling in her chest. It wasn’t _bad_ , not at all. Just different, something she had to get used to and learn to live with. For Ross’s sake.

It all started a week before. Ross had been acting strange, staring off into space, getting distracted easily. His odd behavior only got worse and worse, until finally, he spilled the beans.

He wanted to date Arin.

When they first met, they agreed that they would be in a polyamorous relationship. The only rules were: they had to let the other know and they had to be safe. But in all that time, even before they officially got married, neither one of them had an inkling of interest in someone else. Well, that’s what Holly thought, anyway.

She gave Ross her blessing of course. How could she not? He looked so desperate, so hopeful, that she knew it was the right thing to do. Still, something didn’t quite sit right with her. She knew Ross was still devoted, because he made sure to give her at least as much attention as Arin, if not more.

So why did she still feel so alone?

Holly pulled out her phone and looked through her contacts. Sadly, as she glanced over every name, she felt like there wasn’t a single person she could really talk to. Sure, most of them would be a good shoulder to lean on, but-

Wait. Suzy would understand. After all, she was in the same boat as Holly. In a flash Holly had pressed the call button and waited anxiously for Suzy to answer.

_“Hello?”_

“Hey, Suzy,” Holly replied, putting on a chipper attitude. “Are you able to talk right now?”

_“Sure! What do you want to talk about?”_

“I mean, like, in person,” Holly clarified. She worried her lip with her teeth. Would that seem weird? Just calling out of the blue and asking her to come over? “If you can’t, I understand, I’ll just-”

_“No, no, I can! I’ll be over in a couple minutes, okay?”_

Holly couldn’t help but smile at how warm Suzy sounded. Like all she wanted to do was be there for her. “Okay, cool. Talk to you in a few.”

Now all Holly had to do was keep her mind preoccupied for a few short minutes. So she went about the house and tidied up, put away the cat toys and whatnot. A clean house makes for a happy guest.

She frowned in thought. Suzy wasn’t really a guest-  that implied some sense of _I want to know this person better and impress them, look at me!_ No, their relationship went beyond that. They were best friends, confidants, practically family. Or maybe…

 _Oh._ Holly had a crush on Suzy. No point in denying it.

Her mind began to wander. Yeah, she could imagine being with Suzy. Working on art projects, with some music on in the background. Hands brushing on occasion, and they’d glance at each other. Suzy would smile, making Holly’s heart flutter like a hummingbird. Then they’d lean in close and share a sweet kiss before getting back to work.

The doorbell rang. She rushed to answer it, taking a quick moment to tame her hair, and greeted Suzy with a friendly smile. “Hey, come on in. Make yourself at home.”

“Will do!”

As she stepped in, Holly couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful Suzy was. Her hair was perfectly done, cascading down to her shoulders, and her outfit was on point. Really, she looked like a gothic queen.

 _Get a grip._ She took a seat on the couch next to Suzy and tried gathering her thoughts. Suzy was there to talk about the whole Ross and Arin thing, not be hit on.

“You okay, Holly?” Suzy asked, leaning forward to meet her eyes.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I am.” Holly took a deep breath. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking about our husbands. And their, um…” She clasped her hands together, hoping that Suzy would understand.

Thankfully she did. “Does it bother you?” She put a hand on Holly’s knee, concern shining in her eyes.

Holly sighed, comforted by the touch. “No. At least, I don’t think so? I’m glad Ross is happy.”

“But?” Suzy added. She scooted over and put her arm around Holly’s shoulder, as if saying  _I’m here for you_.

The aroma of Suzy’s perfume washed over Holly. It was familiar, deliciously so, and it just made her feel so safe. She rested her head on Suzy’s shoulder. And no, she didn’t care if the action was a bit too intimate. “I don’t know how I feel about it. I know Ross loves me, but there’s just something off. And I can’t tell him about it, you know? Because that’ll make him feel guilty.”

Suzy’s fingers worked through Holly’s hair. “I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel that same way with Arin.”

And that’s why Holly chose Suzy. She hummed as Suzy’s ministrations sent pleasant tingles down her spine. “What do you think it is?”

“I dunno,” Suzy answered, not sounding the least bit bothered. “But it’ll work out in the end.”

“But,” Holly stammered out, almost sounding like a kid, “How do you know? What if it doesn’t? What if I start hating Arin? What if you start hating Ross?”

Suzy brushed through her hair a bit more slowly. Holly couldn’t help but let her eyelids slip shut.

“Just trust me. Things’ll work out.”

* * *

After Suzy left a little while later, Holly realized what she needed to do. So she waited patiently until Ross got home, going about her usual routine without a hiccup. Not a single worried thought crossed her mind. She could totally do this.

All that confidence melted away when she heard Ross come in. She was painting a prop for her newest cosplay, so she couldn’t go greet him like she normally would. Instead, she simply called out, “Welcome home!”

She carefully listened to the footsteps coming toward her, putting all her energy into keeping her hands from shaking. Was this how Ross felt when he asked to date Arin?

“Whatcha doing?”

After setting her brush down- there was no way she could focus anymore- she stood and wiped her hands off on her already stained jeans. “Nothing much. Just about to grab a bite to eat. Do you want something too?”

“No, Arin and I went out to lunch after recording.” He looked a bit sheepish, eyes carefully watching Holly’s face for her reaction.

Her heart twisted around. Didn’t Ross know that she was one-hundred percent okay with them going out? She gave him a reassuring smile. “How is he? Doing well?”

The way Ross’s eyes lit up made her forget all her worries. “Yeah! He actually enjoyed the game we played today, so he’s not all riled up. Suzy’s sure to be happy about that.” A smile crept onto his face, one that Holly thankfully never had to worry about herself. “But tomorrow’s a whole ‘nother story.”

Holly rolled her eyes to distract herself from the anxiety pooling in her stomach. _Now or never_ , she told herself. “I actually kinda wanted to talk to you about this whole thing.” At the worry on Ross’s face she quickly added, “It’s not anything bad, I promise! There’s just someone I’m kind of interested in.”

Ross mouthed an _oh_ , then immediately sent a barrage of questions her way. “Who is it? Do I know them? When did you first realize you liked them? Are you guys already dating?”

To shut him up, Holly firmly planted her hands on his shoulders and gave him a quick peck on the mouth. “You have to let me talk if you want to know!”

“Right, sorry.” His enthusiasm wasn’t deterred in the slightest. “Still, I want to know!”

“It’s Suzy,” Holly spat out before she could have the time to worry. “She came over earlier and I just kinda fell for her.”

The way Ross reacted to that, you’d think he’d been told he won the lottery. He pulled her into a tight hug and cheered, “Oh my god, that’s great! I can’t wait to tell Arin about this!”

Holly, after a moment of enjoying her victory, felt a cold chill. Arin had talked to her about wanting to date Ross, so it was only fair to return the favor right? She knew he’d be cool with it, but that didn’t stop the giant, lumbering tower of _what if_ in her mind.

“Uh, I’d rather be the one to break the news to him,” Holly stated. “You know, so we can talk it out, see if he’s okay with it?” She pulled away from him and wrung her hands together. “Oh, jeez…”

“Hey,” Ross said softly, pressing his forehead to Holly’s. “It’ll be okay. Here, I’ll help you out.” He pulled out his phone and messed with it for a second, then put it in Holly’s hands. With an impish grin he said, “Good luck!” Then he left.

Holly stared down at the phone, eyes widening when she saw that it was in the process of calling Arin. “Ross!” she yelled out. “This is so uncool-”

 _“Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?”_ Arin’s voice came out.

She cursed under her breath and raised the phone to her ear. “Sorry, it’s Holly. Um, my phone died and I needed to talk to you, so Ross let me borrow his.” It was hard to keep the irritation out of her voice, but she managed it pretty well, all things considered.

 _“Oh?”_ He sounded amused, like he knew exactly what had happened a mere moment ago. _“I’m all ears.”_

“You see, I…” She swallowed thickly. “I like Suzy.”

_“…So does that mean you want to ask her out?”_

“Yes. Yes, I do.” She felt like a criminal waiting for a verdict. Guilty? Not guilty? Only time would tell!

 _“Okay,”_ Arin said casually. _“I’m cool with that.”_

A sigh of relief escaped her. “Thank you so much,” she said with the utmost sincerity.

Arin laughed. _“Hey, it’s no problem. I mean, I’m fucking your husband, so the least I could do is let you get all cuddly with my wife.”_

“Oh, yeah,” Holly agreed with a giggle. Now all she had to do was ask Suzy herself. The greatest hurdle to leap, but she felt like she could handle it. Even if she wound up tripping and falling flat on her face. “Any tips for when I ask her?”

_“Just be yourself, Holly. You won over Ross that way.”_

The rest of her conversation with Arin really helped to boost Holly’s confidence. He eased some of her tension by telling her that Suzy had been talking about Holly- _talking about her_ \- a lot more lately. Saying nice things like, “Holly looked really cute today, you should’ve seen her, Arin” or “Holly’s newest cosplay is perfect, she pulls it off so well”.

They would have kept talking all night, but the phone died unexpectedly. Ross whined when she returned it, purposefully pushing more of Holly’s buttons because he was in a sadistic mood. She humored him a bit, but her mind was on more important things.

Like what the heck she was going to say to Suzy tomorrow.

* * *

Game time.

Holly had everything prepared, every last word, every small action, anything she could think of. When Suzy came over, Holly would look her straight in the eyes and say, “I have a crush on you.” Then Suzy would either reject her, in which Holly would take it all in stride and move on, or she would accept, and Holly would be a very happy woman.

But, when Suzy finally showed up, just as gorgeous as the day before, and Holly looked her in the eyes, she choked. Not just a little, but enough to where instead of going with her plan, she said, “I’ve been thinking about a new song for my channel’s end-slate. Can you give me your opinion on it?”

So with her hands instinctively playing whatever notes sounded right, she scrambled to ad lib some BS lyrics that she knew sucked while Suzy sat next to her on the couch. When she finished, she gave Suzy a sheepish smile. Hopefully it wasn’t _too_ bad.

“I liked it!”

“Thanks,” Holly said while she idly continued to work at the ukulele. That went well. Well enough to give her the courage she needed to finally admit her feelings to Suzy.

“Hey, there’s actually another song I want you to hear,” she half mumbled. Her heart skipped a beat, but she knew she was ready now. “It’s about this whole Ross and Arin thing. Figured it would help me sort things out, you know?”

“Okay, go for it,” Suzy said with an eager smile.

Holly’s strumming became more energetic, but she kept her voice soft as she sang, _“My husband’s dating another guy, but I kinda gave him permission. And I keep feeling left behind, but maybe it’s just me wishing.”_

She glanced up at Suzy, who had a thoughtful look on her face. _“Your husband and mine are dating, sure, and I don’t want to cause a fuss. But I’m just thinking, since they’re together…”_ She stopped. Her mouth became dry, but after a moment, she found the will to power through. _“How about we try us?”_

Suzy stared at her. Then she smiled. And the smile turned into a simple word. “Yes.”

Before Holly knew it, that yes was sealed with a kiss, warm and oddly wet. Suzy took control over it, but Holly was all too glad to take the following role. She was a bit disappointed that she couldn’t taste anything but lipstick, but there weren’t any complaints beyond that. The ukulele was tossed aside to allow for Holly to pull Suzy closer and just _feel_ her on all fronts.

When they separated, both panting and stunned by the intensity, Holly noticed that Suzy’s lipstick had smeared. She could only imagine that some of it got onto her own face too.

“Smudge-proof my ass,” Suzy huffed, pouting. “I guess I picked a bad day to try something new, huh?”

Holly laughed, and maybe snorted a little, and was soon joined by Suzy. They must’ve looked like clowns, leaning on each other, laughing like hyenas, with red smeared on their lips. But Holly didn’t care. It was like the whole universe had found its balance again.

**Author's Note:**

> This pairing was a request from an anon on Tumblr.


End file.
